Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the reason retained fire-fighters who are entitled to social welfare payments when they are not working in other employment are still having payments withheld from them. [19161/13]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Retained firefighters are entitled to a jobseeker’s payment in respect of days they are engaged in firefighting or training. They are, however, required to satisfy the statutory conditions for the receipt of a jobseeker’s payment of being available for and genuinely seeking work. A working group has reported to me and I am pleased to inform the House that I have decided to advance provision within the jobseeker’s schemes to cater for these workers. In arriving at this decision I have been particularly mindful of the vital service they provide, particularly in rural communities where the fire service is almost exclusively staffed by retained personnel.

Legislation in this area is being drafted for inclusion, as approved by the Government, in the forthcoming Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2013. For this reason, I will not go into the specifics of the planned provisions. However, it is my intention that the legislation will allow retained firefighters reasonable and a fair level of access to the schemes in the future. The legislation will take effect from commencement of the relevant provisions of the Bill.

I thank all Deputies and Senators who have been in contact with me on this issue for their patience and forbearance, as well as my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, for his input. I intend to write to relevant Members in the near future outlining my proposals in more detail.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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It is welcome news that progress has been made in this area and I hope we will see the detail of the arrangement soon. It was a very simple anomaly. On the one hand, the Department wanted to comply with its rules and regulations, but, on the other, this vital service was being undermined by social welfare inspectors and the social welfare appeals office. Is it the Minister intention to make this change as soon as possible? Will she inform social welfare inspectors and the social welfare appeals office to put the various cases in question on hold? In the cases in which recipients took a case to appeal and lost, will they be re-examined?

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The practice regarding retained firefighters has its roots in an administrative decision in 1972 to disregard any day of firefighting or training when determining their entitlement to jobseeker’s benefit or allowance. There was the proximity rule for those living close to the fire station. When this matter was brought to my attention several months after I had taken office, I sought to ensure such an unsatisfactory arrangement would be brought to an end. To achieve this, I had to have regard to both the integrity of the social welfare system and the fact that special arrangements had operated for firefighters since the 1970s. I have the Government’s approval to place these arrangements on a sound legislative footing and the specifics are being worked through. The legislation in question will have to be drafted and sent to the Attorney General’s office and the Parliamentary Counsel. I have sought the Government’s approval in this regard because I believe the social good of maintaining this service for the safety and protection of citizens justifies the special arrangements in place. I am satisfied the right outcomes will be achieved with the planned legislation.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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I hope this decision will not impact negatively on the 800 firefighters who avail of the scheme in question. I hope they will be employed in the future rather than being dependent on this payment.